Post Doc Research Associate
Date Posted: Wed, 05 03 2025 00:00:00 GMT
Reference Number: 1258667800A1
Internal ID: 35923-en_US
Company: Purdue University
Location: West Lafayette, IN, US
Requisition Type: Research and Laboratory
Business Unit: 4014
Job Summary
Energy is precious. Its use threatens the planet even as the world’s appetite becomes increasingly ravenous in powering the modern information age. The energy driving artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data centers will utilize 15% of TOTAL world production by 2040. The trend is unsustainable.
Solutions demand revolutionary ways controlling thermal energy. “Old” ways won’t work. “New” energy carriers are needed. Polaritons—quasiparticles made up of photons and material dipoles provide a path. Recent work has proven the potential for polaritons as an additional heat carrying channel for both conduction and radiation at the smallest scales. Transforming this potential into practical solutions is next. Within this position, you will design, fabricate, and build “polariton powered” thermal solutions to impact the world’s energy consumption. You will identify applications where polaritons unlock thermal solutions that traditional energy carriers cannot. Practically, you will take a polariton thermal solution from ideation to realization by leveraging differentiating theoretical and material characterization tools with Purdue’s newly recapitalized Birck Nanotechnology Center. By extending the science of polaritonmediated thermal transport to realize practical solutions, the position will culminate in career opportunities spanning from academic to entrepreneurial.
Desired Qualifications
• A Ph.D. in engineering, physics, or related discipline • Experience in one, or more, of the following areas: (1) first-principles thermal or optical property prediction (2) thermal property measurement, (3) near-field optical phenomena, (4) thermophotovoltaics. • The ability to communicate expertly within and between disciplines both via the written and spoken word as evidenced via a strong scholarly record. • A demonstrated ability to work independently within an interdisciplinary team while being both mentored and taking on a mentoring role.